Home » DfE commissioned longitudinal study of child & family social workers releases 1st report

In 2018, the Department for Education (DfE) commissioned a consortium led by IFF Research, working with social work academics at Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Salford, to conduct a major new longitudinal study tracking the careers of local authority child and family social workers in England over five years. The aim of this landmark new study is to collect robust evidence on recruitment, retention and progression in child and family social work. In particular it aims to establish a much stronger understanding of child and family social work recruitment issues, career pathways, choices and decisions and how these differ across different individual, job and employer characteristics. This report covers the first year (Wave 1) of the survey and follow-up qualitative research, which was conducted between November 2018 and March 2019.